Newsmax’s Ashley Martella observed that a Rasmussen poll is out showing waning public support for President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus bill, and asked Rasmussen what that means.

“First of all, the basic numbers are that a couple of weeks ago as the new president was being inaugurated, 45 percent supported the bill,” Rasmussen said. “It’s down to 37 percent today and for the first time a plurality is actually opposed to the package.

“The reason is very clear: There is a real resistance to the amount of spending in this package. Right now there is more support for a bill that is nothing but tax cuts than there is for the package working its way through Congress.”

Martella noted that a majority of Americans feel it is better to cut taxes than to increase the size of the government, and asked Rasmussen if there is anything surprising in that.

“No, this has been true since Ronald Reagan…

“Consistently, and we have surveyed this year after year no matter who is in office, Americans believe that tax cuts are good for the economy.”

Rasmussen added that most Americans do not agree with the view that a dollar of public spending is better for stimulus than a dollar of tax cuts.

Martella cited a poll showing that a majority of Americans do not want executives of companies receiving taxpayer-funded bailouts to get bonuses.

The pollster disclosed: “The number of Americans who think those executives should get bonuses is smaller than the number who think we should issue a formal national apology to Iran.

“This is one of those issues that has just cut across party lines. Americans say if you’re getting government money to keep your company afloat, you should not be giving huge bonuses to your executives; 71 percent say that if the federal government gives one of these companies bailout money, they should have the right to regulate compensation for executives in those companies.”

Martella asked: “In light of the stimulus package passed by the House, how do you think people view Congress these days?”

Rasmussen responded: “We have some pretty good data on that — 54 percent say that Congress is doing a poor job. Only 12 percent say good or excellent.

“And also because of some other issues in the news, a majority say they don’t think most congressmen pay all their taxes.”